Awards Season 2017: Independent Spirit Awards and Razzies Winners

 This is the first of two posts today about awards season, as it all comes to the grand finale tonight with the 89th Annual Academy Awards. They can be viewed on a dedicated Sky Movies channel in the UK and on ABC in the US.

I'll post my predictions for who will win at the Oscars tonight in a little bit, but first there's the small matter of a couple of other awards to deal with first.

INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARDS

Yesterday- Saturday 25th February- saw the handing out of the Independent Spirit Awards, in a ceremony hosted by Nick Kroll (Loving, Sing, Vacation) and John Mulaney (Mayne Street, Saturday Night Live). These honour films made (partly or wholly) outside the major film studio system. Some of the winners are below.

Best Feature: Moonlight

Best Female Lead: Isabelle Huppert (Elle)

Best Male Lead: Casey Affleck (Manchester By The Sea)

Best Supporting Female: Molly Shannon (Other People)

Best Supporting Male: Ben Foster (Hell Or High Water)

Best Director: Barry Jenkins (Moonlight)

Best Screenplay: Moonlight

Best First Screenplay: The Witch

Best Cinematography: Moonlight

Best First Feature: The Witch

Best International Film: Toni Erdmann

Best Documentary: O.J.: Made In America

John Cassavetes Award: Spa Night

The John Cassavetes Award is given to the creative team of a film budgeted at less than $500,000. The full list of winners can be found here.

Moonlight was the big winner of the evening, with six awards (including the prestigious Robert Altman Award) Can it pull off what many would see as an upset by taking home the main prize at tonight's Oscars? That could indeed be a possibility. Casey Affleck adds another trophy to his haul (and almost certainly will add another one tonight), whilst wins for Toni Erdmann and O.J.: Made In America won't do their chances of Oscar glory any harm either. 

RAZZIES

The 37th Annual Golden Raspberry Awards were also handed out yesterday (in their now-traditional Oscars Eve ceremony).

Here's the full 'winners' list:

Worst Picture: Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party 

Worst Director: Dinesh D'Souza & Bruce Schooley (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Actor: Dinesh D'Souza [as Himself] (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Actress: Becky Turner [as Hillary Clinton]  (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

Worst Supporting Actor: Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) 

Worst Supporting Actress: Kristen Wiig (Zoolander No. 2) 

Worst Remake, Sequel Or Rip-Off: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Worst Screen Combo: Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)

Worst Screenplay: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Razzie Redeemer: Mel Gibson

Whilst I'm not surprised by the kicking that Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice got, at least it can count itself lucky in some respects. Hillary's America 'won' all bar one of its nominations and the co-director/writer/lead actor Dinesh D'Souza has responded to the wins (much in the same way he did to the nominations). This is the first time in the history of the Razzies that a documentary has won Best Picture.

The Razzie Redeemer wasn't voted on by the users of Rotten Tomatoes this year (they instead voted for Worst Screen Combo) but Gibson's work on Hacksaw Ridge does warrant praise. 

This just leaves the Oscars tonight. As promised, my predictions for the big winners will be coming soon.


Tez

Awards Season 2017: Razzies Nominations

As is now traditional (the day before the Oscar nominations), this year's Golden Raspberry Awards nominations have been announced. Ever since 1981, the Razzies dishonour the very worst of film in the preceding 12 months and, by the old Gods and the new, there was a lot of subpar crap to hit the cinema screens in 2016. 

So much so, there's been a change to the Razzies' usual format. As the press release for the Razzies nominations states 'The crop of cinematic crap in 2016 was so extensive that this year's 37th Annual Razzie® Awards is expanding from 5 nominees to an unprecedented 6 contenders in each of its 9 Worst Achievement in Film categories.'

Yep, last year was that bad, they've had to expand the number of nominees. 

So here is the full list of nominations:

WORST PICTURE 

   Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice  

   Dirty Grandpa 

   Gods of Egypt 

   Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party 

   Independence Day: Resurgence  

   Zoolander No. 2 

WORST ACTOR  

   Ben Affleck (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)   

   Gerard Butler (Gods of Egypt, London Has Fallen) 

   Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)   

   Robert  de Niro (Dirty Grandpa)

   Dinesh D'Souza [as Himself] (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

   Ben Stiller (Zoolander No. 2) 

WORST ACTRESS  

   Megan Fox (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows) 

   Tyler Perry (BOO! A Medea Halloween)

   Julia Roberts (Mother's Day)  

   Becky Turner [as Hillary Clinton]  (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

   Naomi Watts (Divergent Series: Allegiant, Shut-In) 

   Shailene Woodley (Divergent Series: Allegiant)

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS   

   Julianne Hough (Dirty Grandpa)  

   Kate Hudson (Mother's Day)  

   Aubrey Plaza (Dirty Grandpa)  

   Jane Seymour (Fifty Shades of Black) 

   Sela Ward (Independence Day: Resurgence)  

   Kristen Wiig (Zoolander No. 2) 

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR 

   Nicolas Cage (Snowden)  

   Johnny Depp (Alice Through the Looking Glass) 

   Will Ferrell (Zoolander No. 2)

   Jesse Eisenberg (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)   

   Jared Leto (Suicide Squad)  

   Owen Wilson (Zoolander No. 2) 

WORST SCREEN COMBO 

   Ben Affleck & Henry Cavill (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)  

   Any 2 Egyptian Gods or Mortals (Gods of Egypt) 

   Johnny Depp & His Vomitously Vibrant Costume (Alice Through the Looking Glass) 

   The Entire Cast of Once Respected Actors (Collateral Beauty)  

   Tyler Perry & That Same Old Worn Out Wig (BOO! A Medea Halloween)

   Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson (Zoolander No. 2)  

WORST DIRECTOR  

   Dinesh D'Souza & Bruce Schooley (Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party) 

   Roland Emmerich (Independence Day: Resurgence) 

   Tyler Perry (BOO! A Medea Halloween)

   Alex Proyas (Gods of Egypt)  

   Zack Snyder (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice)   

   Ben Stiller (Zoolander  No. 2) 

WORST PREQUEL, REMAKE, RIP-OFF  or SEQUEL  

   Alice Through the Looking Glass 

   Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice: Dawn of Justice   

   Fifty Shades of Black 

   Independence Day: Resurgence 

   Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows 

   Zoolander No. 2 

WORST SCREENPLAY  

   Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice    

   Dirty Grandpa  

   Gods of Egypt  

   Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party 

   Independence Day: Resurgence  

   Suicide Squad

Zoolander No. 2 gets the most nods with 9, with Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice behind on 8. I was expecting to see Ghostbusters plastered all over this, but not a single nomination.   

There's no details as yet for the Razzie Redeemer Award- maybe 2016 was such a bad year there's nobody worth nominating? Who knows? If these details do come through, I'll update the post accordingly.

So that just leaves tomorrow's announcement of the nominees for the 89th Academy Awards. So it's time for me to get off the fence, decide on who I think will be nominated and share it with you fine people.

Review: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice (UK Cert 12A)

SPOILER WARNING! This review discusses and/or mentions a few important plot points. If you would prefer not to have these spoiled, please stop reading now and come back once you've seen the film.

Let me preface this review with a remark. This movie is essentially critic-proof. It doesn't really matter that it currently has a critic score of 28% on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of writing; the audience score is currently 72%. It's already made over $424 million worldwide so it's not going to make the slightest bit of difference whether I say 'this is the greatest film ever made in the history of cinema' or 'watching the entire Twilight saga in one sitting is preferable to this inane pile of garbage'. What I will say is this: there was a lot I liked in the film, and a lot I didn't. 

The film has, since its very inception, been a polarizing one. When this project was announced at Comic-Con in July 2013, it broke the Internet. Reactions ranged from 'best thing ever' to '#ruined' and the furore only intensified when Ben Affleck was cast in the role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Over 30 petitions sprung up online, ranging from removing him from the role to trying to make it illegal for Affleck to play either Batman or any other superhero on film. Unsurprisingly, when the casting of Jesse Eisenberg and Gal Gadot were announced as Lex Luthor and Diana Prince/Wonder Woman, there was more vitriol online. Eisenberg was neither old enough nor imposing enough; Gadot was bizarrely too small to play an Amazonian princess. Rumours abounded a month or so ago that the studios were 'nervous' about the film, which was instantly pooh-poohed. As it turns out, they had a right to be nervous. 

With a film that's offering the potential of two of the greatest superheroes in the whole of comic book history coming together for an epic smackdown, you might expect to feel exhilarated, thrilled, engaged, your heart in your mouth and your bum on the edge of your seat. You don't expect to feel bored. And I did. For quite a lot of the film. 

The script- by Chris Terrio and David S. Goyer- is so portentous (occasionally dropping into pretentious), so doom-laden and so without nuance or subtlety that it's a tough watch in places. You're never left to intuit how people feel; the characters tell you blatantly and outright. There's an over-reliance on dream sequences- albeit Batman's fevered hallucination of what would happen if Superman isn't checked is visually interesting- and do we really need to see Bruce's parents being killed again? Apparently, we do, because it's important that we know that Bruce Wayne's mum was called Martha. This becomes vitally important later on as it's the only reason Batman doesn't stomp Superman's face into the dirt. Because their mums have the first same name. Frankly, that's shoddy and lazy writing that a creative writing student would be embarrassed to hand in. 

I guess one of my other major issues with the film is that I don't really get on with Zack Snyder's style of direction. One of my major criticisms of Man Of Steel was that the final fight sequence was too big, too frenetic, too hyperactive. Well, it's the same here, especially the final smackdown between Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman against Doomsday. I gave up trying to figure out who was doing what to whom in most of the fight sequences (not helped by the fact that there's some really dreadful lighting choices made throughout). I get that the worlds of Metropolis and Gotham are supposed to be gritty and dark, but Christopher Nolan's Batman trilogy conveyed that same atmosphere without decimating the lighting budget. There's so much shaky handheld camerawork- which always makes me feel nauseous- and there's some really odd editing choices too. 

It also doesn't help that the already laden dialogue is further weighted down by a ridiculously bombastic score by Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL. This did have one saving grace however: the majorly kick-ass theme for Wonder Woman, whose electric violin riff brought some much needed life to proceedings. 

That said, it's not all bad. Generally speaking (with one major exception), I enjoyed the acting. For all those naysayers who criticised Affleck's casting and derided him before he'd even said a line of dialogue, you're wrong. He works really well as Batman, as a grizzled, older, more world-weary fighter who's had 20 years of fighting and for what? He also makes a particularly good Bruce Wayne and the script manages to drop a couple of interesting hints which will hopefully be explored in the standalone Batfleck film. Henry Cavill remains as stoic and dignified as he was in Man Of Steel, whilst Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne and Diane Lane were all solid support. 

My two favourite performances came from Gal Gadot, whose sensual yet determined Diana Prince added a much-needed spark throughout and who commanded the screen as Wonder Woman in the last battle, and Jeremy Irons who was frankly born to play Alfred. Here, he's a slightly more sarcastic and abrasive but is still the faithful old retainer, delivering slightly heavy-handed speeches to Master Bruce. 

The bum note is Jesse Eisenberg who was so annoying as Lex Luthor that I wished my superpower was to be able to reach into the screen so i could slap the irritating little runt. He wasn't menacing, he wasn't imposing, he wasn't any kind of credible threat. He was mooning around on screen with a performance full of quirky tics rather than any real characterisation and basically acting like a spoiled little brat. As much as I actively dislike Kevin Spacey's performance in Superman Returns, at least his Luthor felt like a threat.

I also liked the cameos from the other nascent members of the Justice League which provided enough of a hint of what's to come without feeling too much like a cynical ploy (although there are a few bits, especially at the end, where the fact that this is now going to be its own franchise is celebrated a bit too blatantly). There are a couple of very striking visuals as well, such as Superman saving the little girl from the fire during the Mexican Day of the Dead. 

Ultimately, this film was underwhelming for me, which was a disappointment. I do feel like some of the criticism that the film has come in for has been a little harsh, but there's only so much you can do to detract from a film's inherent flaws. That said, I am still intrigued to see where the DC Expanded Universe goes from here. I'm really looking forward to both Suicide Squad and Wonder Woman. 

Rating: 3 out of 5

Tez

Happy New Year From The Watchers!

Happy New Year!

New year, new film schedule and this one's going to be a good one!

2016 is the first year where the Marvel and DC Cinematic Universes both have films out so we have the excitement of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice, Captain America: Civil War, Suicide Squad and Doctor Strange to enjoy.

There's also Deadpool, X-Men: Apocalypse, Star Trek Beyond, Independence Day: Resurgence, Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them, Finding Dory, The BFG and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story to enjoy as well as a host of other films.

We'll be giving our opinions on all these films and more in the upcoming year, so keep your eyes on the blog and your ears on the podcast.

Here's hoping 2016 is a cracking year for all!

The Watchers

(Rhys, Matt & Tez)

Comic-Book Round-Up: May 2015

So it's been a while since we did this and there's been a lot of comic book news out recently, so it's only right we have a quick (well, not so quick) round-up of the news.

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE

A leaked trailer of the hotly-anticipated DC Universe movie precipitated an acceleration of the official version being released. The trailer does a good job of setting the scene whilst telling you virtually nothing about the film's plot. You can make out the voices of Jesse Eisenberg (Lex Luthor) and Jeremy Irons (Alfred) in the trailer:

First look photos of Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Eisenberg as Luthor have also been released:

SUICIDE SQUAD

David Ayer's Suicide Squad movie has had its first readthrough with the director releasing this cast picture:

Alongside previously announced cast members Will Smith, Jai Courtney, Margot Robbie and Cara Delevigne, the film will feature Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (rumoured to be playing Killer Croc), Jim Parrack and Ike Barinholtz. Joel Kinnanan will take the role of Rick Flagg as Tom Hardy has had to withdraw from the movie, whilst Viola Davis is confirmed as Amanda Waller. Rapper Common has also been cast in an unspecified role.

There's one noticeable omission from this cast line-up: Jared Leto (who may have been taking the picture). However, the first picture of Leto in his Joker make-up has been released and it's pretty bloody terrifying:

Ayer has also released a full shot of Task Force X in costume:

From left to right, you have Adam Beach (Slipknot), Jai Courtney (Captain Boomerang), Cara Delevingne (Enchantress), Karen Fukuhara (Katana), Joel Kinnaman (Rick Flagg), Margot Robbie (Harley Quinn), Will Smith (Deadshot), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Killer Croc) and Jay Hernandez (El Diablo).

Here's a better look at Will Smith's Deadshot costume:

SPIDER-MAN MOVES TO MARVEL

Sony and Marvel Studios have struck a deal to allow Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony will still finance, distribute, own and have creative control of the films. Spider-Man will appear in an unspecified movie (rumoured to have been Avengers: Age Of Ultron but now likely to now be Captain America: Civil War) whilst he will get his own solo film in 2017. Kevin Feige has confirmed that this solo film will not be another origin story (thankfully) although it does look as if the role will be recast as the character will be in 'the high school years'. This is a shame because Andrew Garfield was pretty good as Spidey. Let feverish speculation over casting commence!

WONDER WOMAN

There's been a change of director for Gal Gadot's solo Wonder Woman film, due in 2017, as Patty Jenkins has replaced Michelle MacLaren. MacLaren left the project in mid-April citing 'creative disagreements'. Jenkins was originally due to direct Thor: The Dark World but withdrew due to 'creative differences' and was replaced by Alan Taylor.

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

Directors Joe and Anthony Russo will be in the driving seat(s) for Avengers: Infinity War. Joss Whedon will not be returning for the third and fourth Avengers movies, handing over the reins to the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Captain America: Civil War. Chris Evans has dropped a hint that he will appear in both films which will be filmed back-to-back over a period of around nine months.

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE

Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lana Condor and Ben Turner have all been cast as younger versions of mutants in Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse. Sheridan will play a young version of Cyclops whilst Game Of Thrones' Turner will be Jean Grey. Shipp is Storm, Smit-McPhee is taking on the role of Nightcrawler, Condor is Jubilee, and Eastenders' Turner is Angel. Lucas Till is returning as Havok and Olivia Munn will also join the cast as Psylocke.

Pictures of Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler have been released:

James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Evan Peters and Nicholas Hoult will reprise their roles from X-Men: Days Of Future Past whilst Rose Byrne will also appear as Moira MacTaggert.

Producer Simon Kinberg has stated that the events of X-Men: Apocalypse will have an impact on spin-off films Gambit and Deadpool.

ANT-MAN

Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish's contribution to Ant-Man will be recognised as a dispute over screenwriting credits has now been solved. Wright was originally due to direct but left over 'creative differences' to be replaced by Peyton Reed. Adam McKay and Paul Rudd rewrote Wright and Cornish's screenplay and all four will share screenplay credit, with Wright and Cornish also receiving a 'story by' credit.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

It's going to be another star-studded Marvel film as there are several cast members returning from previous films. Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie, Frank Grillo and Scarlett Johansson will star opposite Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans. Elizabeth Olsen will reprise her role as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch from Avengers: Age Of Ultron while Daniel Bruhl joins the cast as Baron Zemo and Chadwick Boseman makes his first MCU appearance as Black Panther.It is widely expected that Marvel's Spider-Man will make his appearance in this film, with a casting decision due by the end of May.

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY 2

Josh Brolin will return as Thanos and Karen Gillan will return as Nebula, but Lee Pace won't as Ronan is very much dead. James Gunn returns to direct with the main cast- Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper, Vin Diesel and Dave Bautista- also returning. The film is due for 2017.

DEADPOOL

Ryan Reynolds has posted a picture of himself in Deadpool's costume:

Reynolds will reprise his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine alongside Gina Carano as Angel Dust, Morena Baccarin as Copycat, TJ Miller as Weasel, Ed Skrein as Ajax and Brianna Hildebrand as Negasonic Teenage Warhead (yes, really!)

The film is expected in early 2016.

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Nicole Perlman (Guardians Of The Galaxy) and Meg LeFauve (Inside Out) have been confirmed as screenwriters for the project which is intriguingly billed as Carol Danvers' 'first solo cinematic appearance' (suggesting she may appear in an earlier Marvel film). Emily Blunt and Jessica Chastain have been linked to the lead role of Carol Danvers but no official casting has been announced. 

Interestingly, both Blunt and Chastain have previously been cast in MCU films but had to withdraw. Chastain was due to play Dr. Maya Hansen in Iron Man 3 (but the role was then taken by Rebecca Hall) whilst Blunt was previously offered the roles of Black Widow and then Peggy Carter but had to turn them down due to scheduling.

Comic-Book Movie Round-up: December 2014

So, there's been quite a bit of comic book movie news recently, with massive announcements from both Warner Bros and Marvel Studios over their respective slates for the next five years. There's also been some great casting news announced. 

THE DC CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

2015 will still be dominated by Marvel Studios with both Avengers: Age Of Ultron and Ant-Man (and the first of the new Fantastic Four films) but, from 2016, Warner Bros and DC Entertainment throw their hat into the ring with the start of their cinematic universe, opening with the utter doozy of Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice and then moving on to Suicide Squad.

Casting was announced this week for Suicide Squad, which is to be written and directed by David Ayer (End Of Watch, Fury).

Will Smith will play Deadshot, whilst recent Oscar-winner Jared Leto will play The Joker and The Wolf Of Wall Street's Margot Robbie will play Harley Quinn. Tom Hardy will play Rick Flagg whilst A Good Day To Die Hard's Jai Courtney is Captain Boomerang. Finally, model Cara Delevingne  will play Enchantress. There's also a rumour that Jesse Eisenberg may make an appearance, reprising his role as Lex Luthor from Batman V Superman. 

Fans may notice that there's one piece of casting that has yet to be announced, and that's of the Suicide Squad's head honcho, Amanda Waller. Whilst no casting has been announced, it's been reported that Oprah Winfrey, Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis are all under consideration.

In 2017, there'll be a standalone Wonder Woman movie, presumably with Gal Gadot reprising her role. Michelle MacLaren (who has done sterling TV work on episodes of Game Of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad) will direct and the screenplay will be written by Jason Fuchs. 

Also in late 2017, there'll be the first part of a Justice League movie to be directed by Zack Snyder (Man Of Steel and Batman V Superman). Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot and Amy Adams are already signed on to reprise their roles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, and Lois Lane. The second part will hit screens in 2019.

In 2018, The Flash will make his big-screen debut played by Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower), as will Aquaman with Game Of Thrones' Jason Momoa in the lead role. No doubt Miller and Momoa will also appear in the Justice League movies. 

In 2019, along with the second part of the Justice League movie, Shazam will hit the screens. Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has already announced he will be playing Black Adam but no other casting has been confirmed as yet.

Finally in 2020, a Cyborg movie (starring Ray Fisher as Victor Stone, who will also appear in other movies) and a reboot of Green Lantern completes DC's ambitious slate. Considering that the 2011 Green Lantern movie is generally considered to be a bit of a turkey (losing millions at the box office), it's no surprise they've decided to leave the reboot until last. 

Plans have also been announced for standalone Batman and Superman movies but these have not formed part of this plan as yet.

THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

I did a quick blog when the Marvel slate for 2016-2019 was announced but there have been a few new bits of information since (most notably a major piece of casting)

Captain America 3 was slated for May 2016 (US date), and was originally opening on the same day as Batman V Superman. Were Marvel afraid? Nope. Their date remained unchanged and now it's clear why: the third Captain America film will adapt the highly esteemed Civil War storyline.

Essentially, Civil War pits Cap against Tony Stark over a government bill aimed at forcing superheroes to register themselves and reveal their identities. Cap is against it, Stark is for. Robert Downey Jr and Chris Evans will reprise their roles, and this will also be the debut for Chadwick Boseman who was announced as playing Black Panther. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely will also return from Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Also in 2016, Marvel takes a dip into the more supernatural side of things with Doctor Strange. It was confirmed this week that Benedict Cumberbatch would take the role of the Sorceror Supreme after weeks of speculation. Scott Derrickson (The Day The Earth Stood Still, Sinister) will direct with a script being rewritten by Jon Spaihts.

2017 is going to be a bumper year for Marvel with no less than 3 movies expected for release (at the moment). First of these is Guardians Of The Galaxy 2, which should see the original cast reteam under returning director James Gunn. Next up is Thor: Ragnarok, which will see Asgard under threat from the end of all things. At the moment, Chris Hemsworth will be returning and (it is expected) Tom Hiddleston. Less certain would be Natalie Portman or Anthony Hopkins' involvement, but as no story details have emerged so far, it's difficult to say. Marvel finish the year off with the standalone film for Black Panther.

In 2018, cinemas will get the first part of Avengers: Infinity War which is a very exciting prospect. Josh Brolin is expected to reprise his role as Thanos, as the plot focuses on Thanos' use of the Infinity Stones to terrorise the universe. Summer 2018 will see Marvel's first female-led superhero movie with Captain Marvel, which has been confirmed as being Carol Danvers. There's been a longstanding rumour that Katee Sackhoff is linked with the role but this is just idle gossip at the moment (although I think she'd be kickass). 2018 tounds off with Inhumans.

2019 sees the release of the second part of Avengers: Infinity War. Nothing else has been announced after that. 

20TH CENTURY FOX

Whilst Marvel and DC are the big hitters, Fox have a decent slate of superhero movies due out with reboots of one property and a few sequels to others.

2015 sees the release of the rebooted Fantastic Four, with Miles Teller (Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic), Kate Mara (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch) and Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm/The Thing) in the lead roles. British actor Toby Kebbell will take the role of Dr. Doom, and Chronicle director Josh Trank will oversee the project.

In early 2016, the Deadpool spin-off will be released, with Ryan Reynolds appearing to be close to reprising his role from X-Men Origins: Wolverine (he's been dropping a few less-than-subtle hints on social media this week). Tim Miller will make his directorial debut.

Also in 2016, X-Men: Apocalypse will hit the screens with Bryan Singer back in the director's chair. The action moves to the 1980s and rumour has it that it will tie up the First Class trilogy. Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis) has been cast as Apocalypse. 

Early 2017 currenly sees the sequel to The Wolverine. The only information available so far is that James Mangold, who directed The Wolverine, is attached to direct and that Hugh Jackman will star. No clue on plot or other casting as yet.

Summer 2017 will also see The Fantastic Four 2. The four main cast are expected to return, but that's all we know so far. Josh Trank's involvement is uncertain due to his commitments for a standalone Star Wars film.

There's an untitled X-Men movie rumoured for 2018, and Channing Tatum has seemingly been confirmed as playing Gambit (in an interview with producer Laura Shulde Donner), but whether Gambit will appear in this one or maybe even appear in X-Men: Apocalypse is uncertain. 

SONY AND SPIDEY

Currently, Sony have four comic book projects slated- Sinister Six, Venom, a female-led Spider-Man spin-off and The Amazing Spider-Man 3. However, given the fact that The Amazing Spider-Man 2 didn't exactly set the box office alight, it looks as if plans may be altered slightly. 

Currently, Drew Goddard's Sinister Six movie is still slated for late 2016 although there's been zip in the way of either casting or even which of the Spidey supervillains will make up the Sinister Six. 

As for the female led Spider-Man movie, the best bet would be Black Cat (as the character was hinted at in The Amazing Spider-Man 2) but there are absolutely no details about this project, apart from the concept and a vague release date of 2017. Similarly, the Venom project hasn't progressed either- again, a vague release date of 2017 is the only thing to say, but rumours are that the project has been canned and the character may appear in the Sinister Six instead.

The Amazing Spider-Man 3 is provisionally down for release in 2018, having been moved back from 2016 (thus removing a previously-earmarked Amazing Spider-Man 4). However, there are rumours of yet another reboot in the works or even Sony entering talks with Marvel to allow Spider-Man to join The Avengers (which would be awesome but a logistical nightmare, one would imagine). 

Other studios have provisionally or fully set their rosters and publicised at least some of their films. Sony is the only one with a major comic-book franchise that hasn't. Make of that what you will. 



So, as you can see, there's a lot to go see in the next few years. Here's a handy calendar of what to expect when (please note, this may be schedule to change- let's face it, we are talking some longterm planning here!)


2015

April 24 (UK)/May 1 (US): Avengers: Age Of Ultron

July 17: Ant-Man

August 6 (UK)/August 7 (US): The Fantastic Four


2016

February 12: Deadpool

March 25: Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice

April 29 (UK)/May 6 (US): Captain America: Civil War

May 19 (UK)/May 27 (US): X-Men: Apocalypse

August 5: Suicide Squad

November 6: Doctor Strange

November 11: Sinister Six


2017

March 2 (UK)/March 3 (US): The Wolverine sequel

April 28 (UK)/May 5 (US): Guardians Of The Galaxy 2

June 23: Wonder Woman

July 14: The Fantastic Four 2

July 28: Thor: Ragnarok

October 27 (UK)/November 2 (US): Black Panther

November 23: Justice League Part One


2018

March 23 - The Flash

April 27 (UK)/May 4 (US): Avengers: Infinity War Part One

July 6 - Captain Marvel

July 13 - untitled X-Men movie

July 27 - Aquaman

October 26 (UK)/November 2 (US): Inhumans


2019

April 5 - Shazam

April 26 (UK)/May 3 (US): Avengers: Infinity War Part Two

June 14 - Justice League Part Two


2020

April 3 - Cyborg

June 19 - Green Lantern


Busy time ahead!